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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · bass · swing · bark · march · race · object · last

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. object — to protest
  3. bark — to shout
  4. march — music
  5. last — finally
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. last — final
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — to play on
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. object — a thing
  19. last — to go on
  20. bass — low music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bass — the fish
  24. object — an aim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com